In recent years, the University of Sunderland has offered extra financial support to students who have previously graduated from a degree course at our University and then started a Masters or PhD course with us, either full-time or part-time.

In 2023/24 the University will continue this support by offering our alumni a 20% tuition fee discount from the cost of their new course. For all of our previous graduates, whether UK, EU or International students, the 20% discount is simply being deducted from their tuition fee invoice on enrolment. This is done automatically by the University – there is no need to apply for the discount.

Note that our PGCE courses and our M.Nurse course do not qualify for this scheme - because these courses are uniquely funded under the undergraduate model of UK funding as well as from other government bodies (Teacher Training Bursaries and NHS LSF grants respectively) rather than as postgraduate courses. See the specific information below.

In recent years, the Government introduced loans from the Student Loans Company for Masters and PhD students from the UK and EU. These are continuing in 2023/24. If you choose to receive a government loan for your Masters/PhD, you cannot also receive other government funding at the same time (e.g. an NHS Bursary for MA Social Work etc).

Another thing to bear in mind with postgraduate student loans is that they must be repaid alongside your undergraduate student loan (if you have one). Your undergraduate loan repayments will start when you are earning over £27,295 per year, and are 9% of your income that is over £27,295. Postgraduate loan repayments start when you are earning over £21,000 per year, and are 6% of your income over £21,000. Therefore, if you have an existing undergraduate loan, then take out a postgraduate loan, once you are earning £27,295 you will repay them together as 15% of your income over £27,295.

The Masters loans are up to £12,167 for the course and are available to students pursuing Masters degrees across all subjects - whether full-time, part-time, or distance learning.

• A total of up to £12,167 can be borrowed, which can be used for your tuition fees and living costs (maintenance).
• If studying full-time, the course must be no longer than 2 years in duration. If studying part-time, no longer than 4 years.
• The loan will be split into termly instalments to the student over duration of their course. The responsibility is therefore on the student to manage their own tuition fees payments to the University themselves (as there is no separate 'Tuition Fee Loan').
• Available to students who are under the age of 60 at the start of the course, and who do not already have a Masters qualification.
• The Masters course can be teaching-based or research-based, but must be the full Masters course, not partial. A full Masters course would usually be 180 credits.
• Students who are claiming means-tested benefits while studying (e.g. lone parents claiming Housing Benefit) should note that only 30% of the maximum loan is taken into account for benefits purposes as income. Therefore 70% is disregarded.
• As mentioned in the section above, loan repayments will be income-contingent (similar to undergraduate SLC loans) and repayments will not start until the April after you finish/leave your course.

More details on the application here - https://www.gov.uk/postgraduate-loan/how-to-apply  

The UK Government recently introduced loans for the first time to help students who wish to start PhD courses. The administration, payments and repayments models are very similar to the Postgraduate Masters Loans system (see above).

The main difference between the Masters Loan and the PhD Loan is the amount available for students to borrow. For PhD students, a loan of up to £28,673 is available, spread over the PhD course. The loan is not means-tested and is available for any subject area. Your PhD course must be between 3 and 8 years in duration to qualify for the Loan.

Disabled Student Allowance (DSA) is available to postgraduate students to help with study related costs.  You apply to your national Student Finance office.  For example, English students would apply to Student Finance England.

Detailed information is available from the Student Finance website: www.gov.uk/disabled-students-allowances-dsas .

Contact our Disability Support Team who work alongside us in Student Support Services for help in applying for DSAs.

The undergraduate Student Finance system, providing Tuition Fees Loan and Maintenance Loan for undergraduate students, is also exceptionally paid for teacher training students - e.g. those studying for a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) leading to QTS/QTLS.  We have all the information you need in our PGCE Teacher Training section of the site, including details of additional government training bursaries for those studying to teach in shortage subject areas.

Note: Due to the way that PGCE courses are funded directly by the Student Finance system, the course does not qualify for the Alumni Loyalty Fee Discount for postgraduate students. 

Postgraduate pre-registration healthcare courses, such as our M.Nurse course, are treated exceptionally in the Government's funding regulations. These courses still attract the undergraduate funding from the UK student finance systems, instead of the postgraduate loans system. Therefore you would be applying for:

• undergraduate Student Finance from your national student finance body (e.g. Tuition Fee Loan, Maintenance Loan, etc from Student Finance England); and
• the new Learning Support Fund grants from the NHS Business Services Authority.

Please see the Student Finance loans and grants information and the 'Extra NHS Funding' section on our Nursing & Allied Health Profession Students page for the up-to-date figures and how to apply.

Note: Due to the way that this course is funded directly by SFE and NHS, the course does not qualify for the Alumni Loyalty Fee Discount for postgraduate students.

In recent years, a bursary has been provided to students training to become social workers.  This includes bursaries for students who have previously studied other subjects at degree level, and Masters degree students. There are a limited amount of funded places allocated to each University - and unfortunately you cannot claim the bursary at the same time as the Postgraduate Masters Loan. The major benefit of receiving the bursary instead, however, is that - unlike the Loan - you do not have to repay it.

Postgraduate bursaries are awarded to eligible students for either part time or full time study. They consist of a tuition fees bursary of £4052, a basic grant (not means tested) and a maintenance grant (means tested), so the amount you receive depends on your circumstances. The figures for 2022/23 are below.

The basic grant (not means tested):

• up to £3,362.50 a year if you attend a university outside of London
• up to £3,762.50 if you attend a university inside of London

The maintenance grant (means tested) rate:

• up to £2,721 a year if you attend a university outside of London
• up to £4,201 a year if you attend a university inside of London

You may be able to apply for the following additional help, based on partner’s income:

• The Adult Dependants Allowance (ADA)
• Childcare Allowance
• Parents Learning Allowance (PLA)
• Disabled Students Allowances

More information is available on the NHS Business Services Authority website – https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/social-work-students

For postgraduate research students, this is another of the main sources of government funding in the UK.  To be eligible for a Research Council award you must be ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK for at least 3 years before your application.  You normally need to have a 1st-Class or 2:1 Honours degree from a UK higher education institution.  The awards are offered on a competitive basis and in many areas only a small percentage of applicants are successful.

Detailed information on the funding available and the fields covered by the Research Councils can be found on the funding pages of the Prospects website www.prospects.ac.uk, FindaMasters www.findamasters.com, or from the Research Councils’ own websites:

• Arts and Humanities Research Council – https://ahrc.ukri.org/
• Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council – https://bbsrc.ukri.org/
• Economic and Social Research Council – https://esrc.ukri.org/
• Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council – https://epsrc.ukri.org/
• Medical Research Council – https://mrc.ukri.org/
• Natural Environment Research Council – https://nerc.ukri.org/
• Science and Technology Facilities Council – https://stfc.ukri.org/

Speak to the Programme Leader of your chosen course to see whether the programme attracts Research Council funding. Students are also advised to check the University’s job vacancy website, as studentships are also advertised here: http://services.sunderland.ac.uk/hr/staffrecruitment/vacancies/

Some banks offer deferred payment 'professional study loans’. To qualify you would generally need to have a current account with the bank too, and the loans can be restricted by subject area. Check with your bank for their study loan options. 

Always check the terms and conditions of any loan you are considering, and make sure you understand the repayments and any charges before you sign an agreement.

Scholarships that provide full funding for postgraduate studies are rare; most scholarships tend to provide a contribution towards costs.  Some higher education institutions and professional institutions do have scholarship funds.  There is an internet search engine for scholarships – www.scholarship-search.org.uk

Also try:

www.postgraduatestudentships.co.uk

www.thescholarshiphub.org.uk

https://targetpostgrad.com/advice/funding-advice (the Target Courses website)

https://www.prospects.ac.uk/postgraduate-study/phd-study/phd-studentships (information on PhD Studentships)

Aziz Foundation:

From this year the University of Sunderland is linking up with the Aziz Foundation who provide scholarships to British Muslims considering undertaking a Masters programme in eligible subjects at our University. You can find more information on how to apply here: www.sunderland.ac.uk/study/scholarships-discounts-and-specialised-grants/apply-for/ 

Two major charities to fund postgraduate research are the Wellcome Trust www.wellcome.ac.uk and the Professional Aid Council http://www.professionalsaid.org.uk/.

There are many other charities and trusts that can sometimes provide financial help to students – but their funding is limited and often only provides contributions on the basis of exceptional financial need/hardship.  They also tend to have wide ranging eligibility criteria.

Try the Grants Search on www.turn2us.org.uk and also the search facility at the Target Courses website: https://targetpostgrad.com/advice/funding-advice . You can find more info on PhD Studentships here - https://www.prospects.ac.uk/postgraduate-study/phd-study/phd-studentships

If you want any help with applications, let us know.

The Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) runs a Postgraduate Loan scheme which offers Tuition loans and Living Costs loans for Scottish students at PD Diploma level and Masters level. Check the SAAS website for further information – www.saas.gov.uk 

Student Finance Wales offer Masters Loans and Doctoral Loans. Please see - https://www.studentfinancewales.co.uk/postgraduate-finance/ 

Student Finance Northern Ireland also offer a Postgraduate Loan to help students with their tuition fees - https://www.studentfinanceni.co.uk/types-of-finance/postgraduate/ 

It may also be useful to contact your Faculty of study, as they may have information on sources of funding over and above that which is available to the Student Financial Guidance Team. You could ask the Programme Leader whether there is any funding for the course you are looking to study, and/or where the current cohort of students are getting their funding from.

If your course is a vocational course, further funding information may also be available from the national professional body for your chosen career.

Postgraduate students are eligible to apply to SSF, the university's hardship fund.  It is intended, however, to offer assistance to students facing exceptional costs or financial difficulties.  Postgraduate students are expected to have substantive funding available for their studies and SSF will not ‘top up’ the income of those who have started their course without first securing sufficient funding. It also cannot be used to pay tuition fees.

You can find more information on the Fund here - as it is administered by the University's own Student Support Fund Office.

If you are planning on studying a second undergraduate degree course (i.e. you already have a bachelors degree and want to study another new bachelors degree) you are generally NOT eligible for help from the Student Finance system for Fees Loans and Maintenance Loans (exceptions being for teacher training QTS courses, Nursing, some Allied Health Professions, and - for Maintenance - Medicine and Social Work). Entitlement to dependants grants and disability support from Student Finance can still be assessed for a second degree however. 

As mentioned above, the Student Finance system can still pay Disabled Student Allowance for Postgraduate Students. It is not means-tested, and is based on the equipment, travel, and non-medical assistance costs that you incur on your course as a result of your disability. Speak to our Disability Support Team if you need more details.